How an aquarium will change Easton into Science City

With one project, Easton can become a leader in science education and tourism.

The project is Da Vinci Science City, a museum and aquarium unveiled at a press conference Tuesday.

The museum would be the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania, featuring a 500,000-gallon saltwater tank.

"Yes. There will be sharks," said Lin Erickson, the executive director of the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown.

She called it a world-class museum that will position the Lehigh Valley as a leader in STEM education - science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

She said the current museum has outgrown its space in Allentown. The 175,000-square-foot museum proposed at the current site of the Days Inn hotel in Easton would allow the museum to triple its exhibit space.

Plans call for 35,000 square feet of permanent exhibits focusing on local industries, health and nature. There will be 10,000 square feet for traveling exhibits, such as Harry Potter or Pixar, Erickson said.

The museum would have a giant-screen immersive movie theater that would show first-run Hollywood films when the museum closes at night.

Plans call for a 500-seat event center that could hold receptions for up to 800 people. It would have a creativity studio with a workshop for residents similar to a "fab lab" with 3D printers and laser cutters available to the public.

City council has agreed to pay $5.9 million for the land for the project and to put up $24 million of the $130 million cost. The city has a year to study the proposal and can back away if it doesn't look feasible.

Easton will recoup its investment in the form of taxes and fees if the attraction gets 400,000 visitors a year, according to Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. It's projected to draw 600,000. Extra revenue could help other tourist attractions, such as the State Theatre, and social services, such as homeless shelters.

Da Vinci's Allentown museum will become the Children's Discovery Center, a state of the art STEM education center for children 8 and under. The new museum will provide learning and job opportunities for area youths.

"It really helps establish Easton as a hub for this kind of inquiry," said Alison Byerly, the president of Lafayette College in Easton.

"It's not just a great day for the City of Easton," said Don Cunningham, the president of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. "It's a great day for the Lehigh Valley."